₦airaland Forum

20CRATES:
Akoko Ondo are Yoruba, although there were a few villages there that were speakers of edoid dialects but who have since converted, or are currently in the process of doing so.

Akoko Edo is where things get reaally interesting.
It is made up of:
* Etunos (who live in Igarra the LGA HQ). The Etunos are basically Egbiras who just go by a different name to be fancy because they are not in "North" like Egbira Okene people lol.
* Okpameris, The biggest group
* Yorubas
* Unemes (Believed to be migratory blacksmiths) - some of them claim origin to as far away as awka.
* Ososo
* Sasaru - Enwan
Etc.

In short, a tower of Babel , linguistically speaking. In Akoko Edo, you can encounter 5 languages within a 1km radius, or even different sections of the same village speaking different languages.
During the times of the Western Nigeria internecine wars, they were one of the badly affected groups. They suffered some heavy Ibadan raiding, this was a period of high mobility, many Yorubas settled there and began to influence them, lifestyles and linguistically. A lot of them picked up the names of Yoruba war generals, notable people etc.

Then the Nupe Jihadists came along raiding and pillaging, and also left their legacy, especially in the aspects of traditional titles and rulership (although now, the nupe influence has almost vanished), you can still see hints of it in some last names lake Dawudu, Bakare, etc.

Starting from early colonial times, there was an additional influx of early Yoruba christian missionaries, Clerks, office/Government workers, etc into the area, they became influenced even more. The ones that retained their differences earlier all converted to Yoruba names.
They all began to speak Yoruba language - which was honestly more of a plus to them naturally speaking, because of the regions extremely high linguistic diversity, Yoruba made it easier for them to relate within themselves and with their Yoruba neighbors.

Then, many migrated to major Yoruba urban centres and returned home with even more dynamics, influencing what was on ground in the villages even more.

That was how they became a more or less Yoruba people, although with ancestral very very old edoid roots. Roots that are honestly not even connected with Benin. But the original edoid stock of people.

Hold up. Don’t you have to claim descent from Ile-Ife and Oduduwa to be considered truly Yoruba?

Probz:
Hold up. Don’t you have to claim descent from Ile-Ife and Oduduwa to be considered truly Yoruba?

no

Probz:
Hold up. Don’t you have to claim descent from Ile-Ife and Oduduwa to be considered truly Yoruba?

Nope

Anyone willing to elaborate for me? Are Akoko Ondo people actually Yoruba or just Yoruba-speaking?

Probz:
Anyone willing to elaborate for me? Are Akoko Ondo people actually Yoruba or just Yoruba-speaking?

You like Wahala

9jakool:
An important thing to note is that Ekiti dialect is not an Eastern dialect, it's a Central dialect, but it still has many similarities with Eastern dialects. Despite the contact with Bini, it is almost impossible to find Bini words in Ekiti. By the way contact with Bini was lesser especially in Northern and Western Ekiti.

Eastern dialects have very little/insignificant Benin influence in terms of language. Dialects like Ijebu and Remo despite being Eastern weren't directly in the Benin's line of influence. Ijebu were known to practice strict isolationism and any outsider was not allowed in their kingdom. They were pretty much an independent kingdom free of Oyo or Bini for much of their existence.

Also, Eastern dialects like Ilaje and Ondo that were directly in Benin's line of contact were not significantly influenced by Edo language. I think if you want to see the Edo-Yoruba relationship, then you can visit Ogho-Osse area in Ondo state. Ogho craftsmen were utilized in Bini's courtyards, because they were known for their ivory and wood carving skills. Even the Ogho dialect that shares a direct border with Edo was not really that influenced by Edo language. Why? I've heard the Ogho dialect was the dialect of Yoruba spoken in Bini's royal courts centuries ago. Also, Bini took on more Yoruba influence in terms of language than vice versa. I think this is because the Bini didn't really force their language on their neighbors.

Itsekiri and Ilaje Yoruba understand each other and can hold a conversation with each other despite Itsekiri being classified as Yoruboid and Ilaje being a dialect of Yoruba.

The main difference between Itsekiri and Eastern Yoruba dialects is mainly the higher presence of Bini/Urhobo and Portuguese loan words in Itsekiri as compared to Eastern Yoruba dialects.

Names like Ojo can be found in Yoruba as well. I was surprised to find that the tradition for abiku exists in Igala where it's known as abikwu. Abiku rituals are performed on children that are born to die. Abiku contains two verbs: "bi" to be born/to give birth and "ku" or "kwu" to die.

^^^^^^
^^^^^^
@9jakool

Thank you for this info
that I 'm just seeing on this thread.
I read in one if the archival materials
that Ado-Ekiti is derived from Edo
and that Ado is the Yorubanised
version of Edo. Read that Ado served
as a Bini Empire military camp
and the Bini used to come to Ikere
and other parts of Ekiti and Ondo
States on elephant hunting
expeditions.

Do you agree with these "facts"
above?

Thanks again and...
Happy Holidays to you!

Konquest:
^^^^^^
^^^^^^
@9jakool

Thank you for this info
that I 'm just seeing on this thread.
I read in one if the archival materials
that Ado-Ekiti is derived from Edo
and that Ado is the Yorubanised
version of Edo. Read that Ado served
as a Bini Empire military camp
and the Bini used to come to Ikere
and other parts of Ekiti and Ondo
States on elephant hunting
expeditions.

Do you agree with these "facts"
above?

Thanks again and...
Happy Holidays to you!

The relationship with Binis you noted is a possibility that I'm not going to dismiss. However, I don't agree that the origin of Ado-Ekiti comes from Edo. Ado-Ekiti was already established before the imperialistic expansion of the Binis.

9jakool:
The relationship with Binis you noted is a possibility that I'm not going to dismiss. However, I don't agree that the origin of Ado-Ekiti comes from Edo. Ado-Ekiti was already established before the imperialistic expansion of the Binis.

^^^^^^
^^^^^^
@9jakool

OK...then. Thanks for the insightful
clarifications on Ado history
and the quick response from you!

Cheers.

The igbo, the igalla, and the yoruba have a common ancestor -

Monkey

no dull your self poster. The igalas are not yoruba and never will. The fact that they have some things in comon in their language does not mean that they are the same. Those linguistic similarities exist becos they live close to each other and over time, borrowed some words.
The closest to the igalas in nigeria are the idomas. There are more similarities between the two than with any other person they are living close to.

Attah and Iduh, the progenitor of the two respective tribes were actually brothers. They came to nigeria at the same time after being denied their inheritance when their father died becos they were children of the last wife and were the youngest.

When they were leaving, they took along with them the powerful deities their father worshiped. Attah took the most potent one and that explains the so much power the igalas wield and particularly, the Attah. The attah can curse nature and it will obey him!

I dont know why people are saying this, the idomas are not igbos! They have never beign. Befor the igbos came to nigeria, the idomas where already here. Together with the igalas, we are one of the first people to come to nigeria

You are lettered but not educated. How can you use mythology as a prove. If you were not taught, read it up. Similarities between languages amongst others are scientific ways of proving such matter.

That trash u are saying about one powerful rubbish, you better get education and forget those stupid African myths

9jakool:
No Yoruba dialect is weird, it's just perception. For example a native speaker of Ijebu won't find anything strange about Ijebu, but an Ibadan speaker might and vice versa. If we are going to use the Standard Yoruba register which is based on the Ibadan and Oyo dialects as the basis, then there are some dialects that would be considered "weird" by a person who's not familiar with other dialects. This is why when a lot of people who come to Yorubaland and just learn the Standard Yoruba find it very difficult to understand the many dialectal varieties that exist. This problem can be averted if you train your ears to the different dialects. Native Yorubas can generally pick up on each others' dialects.

But to answer your question, if someone learns the common standard Yoruba, then the NE, SE and the SW dialect groups will be the most difficult to understand. Let me break it down, Standard Yoruba is based on the NW dialects, so you are going to understand other NW dialects(Ibadan, Lagos, Oyo). Some NW dialects like Egba, Ibarapa, Ibolo, Yewa, Onko might give you a little more challenge but you are still going to understand. You will also understand the Central dialects, although you will find some challenges. When you get to the SE(Ijebu,Ondo, Ilaje etc), one's untrained ears will not help.

To put it short, anything SE Yoruba(Most of the many dialects in Ondo state except for Akure as well as the Ijebu and Remo dialects in Ogun and Lagos) will be the "weirdest." These dialects contain reminiscence of old Yoruba as that have changed very little since antiquity in comparison to some Yoruba dialects. These dialects have very complex/unique phonology/sounds that aren't simply present in many Yoruba dialects. This include consonants, oral vowels and nasal vowels that are typically simplified in NW Yoruba dialects. For example, mouth in Yoruba is "enu" and "erhu" in Ilaje. Hole in Yoruba is "iho" and earth is "aye" but "ukhwo" and "ehyale" in the Ikale dialect respectively. You also have the frequent use of nasal sounds like "en" and "on" in those dialects.

The SW dialects, particularly the Ana/Ife dialect of Togo-Benin can be hard to understand, but I won't say it's the "weirdest" sounding. The sound systems are much simpler than the SE varieties.

Lol. Weird’s obviously a tongue-in-cheek expression. You know what I’m saying.

Interesting still. I get that feeling with Eastern Yorubas, I know what you’re saying. It’s always freaking to meet an Ekitian after tons of Osun/Oyo/Abeokuta people. They’re a little more distinct even apart from their dialect.

Probz:
Lol. Weird’s obviously a tongue-in-cheek expression. You know what I’m saying.

Interesting still. I get that feeling with Eastern Yorubas, I know what you’re saying. It’s always freaking to meet an Ekitian after tons of Osun/Oyo/Abeokuta people. They’re a little more distinct even apart from their dialect.

Yes, "weird" in that sense, but they are just speaking naturally. I just don't like that some people think it's weird, because that's what they've always known their language to be, so it's not for others to judge nor for them to change to satisfy others. But, let's face it, those dialects are in serious danger of going extinct as less and less people, especially younger generation use them. People are already switching to Standard Yoruba or other languages. Part of the problem is perception of others who think they are not speaking proper. I see it all the time.

This problem can be fixed if people have a different attitude, take more pride in their identity and encourage their usage in daily life, in writing, on street sign, things like that. But that's unlikely to happen seeing how Nigeria is. When has Nigeria (government and people alike) seriously cared about any form of preservation. Nigerians don't care about land preservation, animal preservation, resource preservation, yet alone care about something like language preservation. Many Nigerians speak more "English" than the oyinbos themselves, yet can't communicate in their own dialect. They westernize every single part of their life and corrupt their traditions and languages. Before you know it, many dialects will be lost to history. It's only a matter of time. That's the way it's has always been. It's happening all over Nigeria. Many Nigerian languages have already gone extinct or in the process. They are just a mere speck in the forgotten timeline of history. I went on a little bit of a tangent, but that's just my opinion.

By the way, you can understand more of Eastern Yoruba by listening carefully. You'll start to notice the similarities or things you recognize the more you listen. Also, just a little side note, Ekiti isn't Eastern, maybe it falls slightly East of Yorubaland geographically, but it's not an Eastern dialect per say. It's a central (transitioning) dialect made up of many local variants. Can you elaborate more on your last sentence?

Konquest:
^^^^^^
^^^^^^
@9jakool

Thank you for this info
that I 'm just seeing on this thread.
I read in one if the archival materials
that Ado-Ekiti is derived from Edo
and that Ado is the Yorubanised
version of Edo. Read that Ado served
as a Bini Empire military camp
and the Bini used to come to Ikere
and other parts of Ekiti and Ondo
States on elephant hunting
expeditions.

Do you agree with these "facts"
above?

Thanks again and...
Happy Holidays to you!

Not true but hype of the Bini kingdom by the Some Edos. Even in Ekiti, there are Bini's oranmiyan descendants that, despite their direct link through Oba of Bini lineage they hardly pronounce but to their Yoruba heritage, isn't surprising not acknowledging such kingdom if truthfully Bini was that Great?

abouzaid:
@alh harem, today ur Yoruba,tomorrow ur nupe, the day after hausa, u even claimed igbo on the biafran thread and have stated ur state of origin as anambra. Do u want to claim igala now? I know u hate it when igbos are ever mentioned in good light but igalas and idomas are not Yoruba and are highly fused to the igbos to the extent that most ppl think the whole of idoma land are igbo catholics with a common language. I guess that will be painfull for u to bear. Yakwuri, ndo. Pls go back 2 the bini thread and continue recieving the spanking of ur life there. The igalas and idomas are an independent tribe of their own though we know which major tribe they will follow if nigeria ever breaks up.

we dy follow Igbos for sure!!

Yoruba, Igala and Igbo are Niger Congo group. Igala is largely Yoruboid but as one moves down south of Igala especiyaround Ibaji, Igalamela/Odolu and Olamaboro it becomes more Igbotic. For instance, people in Olamaboro are often described as Okpoto just like ebonyi Igbo. They are often described as Okpoto because of the similarities with Idoma and Igbo. I am from Olamaboro, my mum speaks fluent Idoma and Igbo and I envied her. I am not proficient in either.
One of my uncle’s name is Ejike and my mum like every Igala woman I know tie two wrappers.
I remember listening to MNK and I laughed when he said if your mum tie two wrappers you are Biafra.

The truth is there are a lot more that bind us together than divide us. Aside some Islamic influences in some Igala people especially those a bit north, there really is nothing culturally different with Idoma and Igbos.

Ultimately , almost all the tribes south of river Benue and Niger are related one way or the other.